One Halloween
by Tabitha12
Summary: Unexpected events on Halloween night lead to an evening of fun and stories at Gull Cottage. Takes place in the From This Day On Universe.


_**The characters from 'The Ghost and Mrs. Muir' belong to 20th Century Fox and David Gerber productions. No infringement is intended, no profit made, and they will be returned unharmed from whence they came. My story is for enjoyment only. Any real people mentioned in this story are there in name only and make no personal appearance. All other characters, plots, story lines and development of GAMM characters belong to the author and may not be used or changed without express written permission. Thank you to all who listened to me babble and offered their advice – To Amanda, Susan G. and Kathy, and to Debbie, for helping me think up the Halloween games!**_

**One Halloween**

Mary

**Saturday, October 31, 1970**

"The best laid plans of mice and men," said Robert Burns in _To a Mouse, _"gang oft aglay," and apparently, this was DEFINITELY the case for Halloween, 1970, at Gull Cottage. In the two weeks prior to Halloween, fun and festivity had been in the air, and the children had driven Carolyn and Martha nearly to distraction with their costume ideas and plans for the evening. Jonathan had rotated between being a ghoul, a robot, and at one point had even thought about donning a pretend beard, blue turtleneck sweater and his Sunday suit jacket and going as Captain Gregg (Carolyn had discouraged that idea) but had finally decided to be a cowboy — sans horse, much to his regret. Candy had vacillated between being a hippie, a mummy and an Indian princess, and had finally settled on being a go-go dancer — complete with a very short miniskirt (much to the Captain's dismay) tank-top and white go-go boots, borrowed from Linda Coburn.

Martha was looking forward to attending the Halloween dance in town with Ed Peavey, after she and Ed dropped the children off in town to go trick-or-treating with their friends, and Carolyn Muir was quite happy with the idea of NOT attending the same dance, but staying home instead and passing out candy to any trick-or-treaters who were (or whose parents were) brave enough to come calling at what was still considered "that haunted house," by the in-towners, and listen to Daniel Gregg spin tales of his adventures at sea. That, a warm fire and a glass of Madeira... what could be better, especially now that new possibilities were open? Carolyn would pick the children up two hours later, and Martha and Ed would stay on at the dance. Apparently, the glimpse he'd had of a certain handsome Englishman charming Martha had been rather effective. Everything was perfectly planned.

But, as said, plans change — sometimes with no warning at all.

XXX

_**Knock, knock, knock... **_Martha made her way to the door, wiping her hands on her apron.

"_Brr! _Chilly out there! Good morning, Martha!" Claymore Gregg beamed at the housekeeper over the large paper bag he was carrying and stepped over the threshold and into the foyer of Gull Cottage. "Just here to get that pipe repaired in the cellar, and while I'm at it, I thought it would be a good time to fix the sink out on the laundry porch you called about, replace the faucet in the kitchen and get to that upstairs toilet — It is still running, isn't it? And there's the cracked linoleum in the kitchen, and there are a few other things... don't mind me, I'll be here for a bit..."

"Claymore..." Martha looked at him skeptically. "The pipe in the cellar has been dripping for a month, the sink has been slow for longer, and the toilet has been running for even longer than that! You're just getting around to this now? What do you really have in mind? Are you here to mooch Halloween candy? Because if you are, forget it. We bought it for the trick-or-treaters and..."

"Martha, you do me an injustice." The bespectacled man looked anxious in spite of himself. "Here I am, coming out here, voluntarily, may I say, and..."

"What's the catch?"

"Catch? Why, nothing Martha, just..."

"I knew it." The woman looked disgusted. "You ARE up to something."

"Martha?" Carolyn Muir's voice could be heard from the top of the stairs. "Who's at the door?"

"Just Claymore," Martha answered, as her employer descended the staircase. "Now never you mind about him, Mrs. Muir. I know you're on a deadline. I was just telling him that..."

" ...That the oaf can just exit Gull Cottage three times faster than he entered it!" Daniel Gregg said with a growl, materializing in front of the hapless man.

"You... you just stop it. You... you big bully! Are you going to call the other two out to help beat me up if I don't run screaming?" Claymore said, holding the large brown-paper bag in front of his face. "Here I am — willing to help you, WANTING to help you, and what do I get for my trouble? Nothing! Bunch of ingrates! Why I..."

Claymore, Clay... Dash and Sean haven't moved in... They have their own afterlives..." The lady of Gull Cottage interrupted smoothly. "What's the catch?"

"Everybody asks me that!" Claymore whined. "First Martha, now you... and YOU!" Claymore turned a baleful eye toward Daniel Gregg; "You never cut me a break at all! Can't a..."

"...Not you!" The seaman gave his supposed nephew a scornful look. "Now give, you bilge rat, or I'll remind you I don't need any crew to throw you out..."

"Okay, okay!" Claymore muttered, placing his paper bag on the floor. "Sheesh. You don't have to be so suspicious! It's just that October thirty-first is my fiscal year-end and I... well..."

"You need to be able to claim more homeowners' deductions on your taxes, and these..." Carolyn gestured to the bag on the floor, "Are the parts you need to get the improvements done. Right, Claymore?"

"Well, yeah, that, and I can claim the cost of my labor, too." Claymore's face brightened. "And that is worth a tidy sum indeed! So, if I can just get these little repairs made around here today, I get something out of it, and so do you." And he gave Carolyn Muir a puppy-dog look.

Carolyn shook her head. "I don't know, Claymore. "We're awfully busy around here. I have a deadline, and probably won't be done until later this afternoon and the kids have some homework and are trying to get their dressed for trick-or-treating, and Martha is baking, and then she and Ed are..."

"Then we can all be busy together!" Claymore interrupted her. "I just need to get these few little chores out of the way, and I won't bother anybody, and Martha just said you've been waiting for me to get out here and get them out of the way, and if it's not today, I may not be able to get back out here for..."

"Are you BLACKMAILING Mrs. Muir, Claymore?" Daniel Gregg gave the landlord a menacing look.

"Oh, no! No-no-no-no! It's not like that at all!" Claymore protested. "Just — just stating facts, Captain! I'm a busy man myself, you know, and Ed and Abner charge too much for me to hire them to make repairs every time some little something goes wrong, so if you make me wait, I may not be able to get out here again for a while. "You want to keep your ship — ship shape, right? Now what do you say?" The Captain winced, and Claymore knew he had touched a tender spot and the seaman shifted his gaze to Carolyn.

"Would his noise and clashing about be a bother to you, my dear?"

"I suppose not," Carolyn shrugged. "I'll be in my room pounding out the last of this story, and there's nothing that Claymore needs to do in our... MY cabin... ROOM, so I suppose it's all right. The repairs really need to get done, Captain."

"Very well," Daniel rumbled. "But you be quick about it, Claymore. Get the blasted work done and go. And no freeloading in the galley! Understand?"

Claymore nodded, weakly. "Would a cup of coffee or two be out of line, Captain?"

Daniel nodded shortly. "I think that could be managed. Now, get moving."

"Aye-aye... uncle!" Claymore said insolently, under his breath.

"WHAT?"

"Aye-aye, CAPTAIN GREGG!" Claymore almost shouted the words as he grabbed his paper bag and headed for the upstairs bathroom, where the broken toilet awaited him.

"That's more like it!" The Captain looked satisfied. "Carolyn, dear lady... I will talk to you when you are past your deadline. Martha, don't let that Neanderthalic nincompoop get away with anything, especially food. I'll be in the wheelhouse working on my sea charts, if you need me." The seaman disappeared.

The rest of the morning and early afternoon passed quickly. Claymore puttered about the place quietly, for him at any rate, finishing all the projects he had mentioned, saving the leaky pipe in the cellar until last. Candy and Jonathan finished their homework, prepared their costumes for that evening and then started a cutthroat game of double solitaire quietly in their bedroom, until they too, grew tired and elected to come down to the living room and cuddle up in front of the television instead. Carolyn worked on her story in her room — the curtains drawn against the glare of the day and the temptation to run away from the typewriter and take a walk along the beach instead. After a busy morning of baking, Martha took a short snooze while her cup cakes and cookies were cooling, and the clouds gathered.

XXX

"Sheesh!" Claymore muttered, coming back up from where he had been making the last of his repairs. "I thought it was just cold in the cellar!" He shivered. "It's chilly up here, too! Martha!" he shouted, heading for the housekeeper's door. He knocked. "Martha! You in there? Okay if I turn on the furnace?"

Martha came out of her room, rubbing her arms and shivering. "Go ahead, Claymore. You haven't broken it, or anything, have you?" She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Geekes! It's only three-thirty! Why is it so blasted cold?" She headed for the bay window in the living room and drew open the curtains.

"Holy smokes!" she exclaimed. "Will you look at that?! It's snowing!"

"Snowing! It can't be!" Claymore cried. "It can't... well! What do you know?! It IS snowing!" He rubbed his hand against the glass pane that was quickly fogging up against his warm breath.

"Martha..." Carolyn made her way down the stairs and headed for the living room. "What's all the excitement about?"

"Snow, Mrs. Muir!" Claymore said gleefully. "It's coming down like crazy! Didn't you see it?"

Carolyn shook her head. "No — I had my bedroom curtains drawn. Easier to concentrate that way. My! It really IS coming down!"

"Mommy! Mommy!" Candy and Jonathan dashed up to her, dragging her to the window. "It's snowing! It's snowing! It really is!"

"Madam!" Captain Gregg materialized, joining the others. "I could hear you all the way up in the attic! What on earth...?"

"It's snowing, Captain!" Martha answered, pointing toward the windows.

"Nonsense!" the seaman stated. "It hasn't snowed here this early here since..." and he turned and got a good look at the weather outside. "Great guns and cannons! It IS snowing! Unbelievable. I hadn't noticed — I've been buried in sea charts and log entries for the last several hours."

"Told you!" Claymore all but stuck his tongue out at the Captain.

"Looks like there's plenty of ice building up out there, too." Martha said, moving away from the window. "Claymore, if you want to get home, you better get going. I don't like the look of that road, already."

Claymore looked alarmed. "Yeah, I better." He started collecting his tools that were strewn about the living room and foyer area. "Everything's been fixed, Mrs. Muir. Everything you told me about. Martha..." Claymore paused. "Any chance I can get a thermos of coffee before I go? It could take me a little while to get home, if the roads are bad."

Martha nodded. "Go out and start scraping off your car, Claymore. I'll bring it to you as soon as I have it ready."

"Martha you're an angel." Claymore looked relieved. Quickly, he grabbed his toolbox and coat and headed for the door.

"I think I'll go see if I can speed Claymore's departure any," said the Captain, and he vanished.

Jonathan turned from where he was still standing in front of the window. "Martha?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Yes, Jonathan?" she answered, anticipating his next question.

"Shouldn't you be calling Mr. Peavey to tell him to come early? I mean, with the weather and all. It might take us more time to get into town for trick-or-treating."

The housekeeper shot her employer a "_you better help me out, here_" look, and Carolyn took her cue.

"Uhm, I'm sorry, Jonathan. You, too, Candy. But I'm afraid trick-or-treating in town is going to be impossible. It won't be dark for at least another hour-and-a-half or so, Martha still has to get you there, and then I would have to come and get you two hours after that, and by then nothing short of a national catastrophe will get me anywhere NEAR a car — and even then, I'd ask for a second opinion." Carolyn's beautiful face held a look of true regret. "I'm sorry, guys. No trick-or-treating. I'm afraid you are going to have to stay at home tonight."

Candy and Jonathan moaned. "But... MOM!"

"I said, no," Carolyn stated, ruefully. "I really am sorry, you two."

Jonathan shrugged and made a face. "We understand, sorta, I guess. But, gee, the snow! It's pretty cool!"

The phone rang and Martha stepped into the foyer to answer it. If a few moments, she was back. "That was Ed," she said, shaking her head. "Looks like everything that was scheduled for tonight has been cancelled because of the weather. No dance, no trick-or-treating, no nothing. The town council made the decision twenty minutes ago, without Claymore. Everything has been shut down. Weather permitting, they might try for something next weekend. Excuse me, Mrs. Muir. I'm going to go get Claymore's coffee ready to go. Glad I had the pot going, already." The housekeeper headed for the kitchen.

"Well, that makes me feel better, Mommy." Candy interjected. "At least now I know we aren't missing out on anything the other kids get to do!"

"And maybe there won't be any school on Monday!" Jonathan added.

"I wouldn't count on that," Carolyn answered, and moved closer to the window, watching as Captain Gregg intercepted Martha, gave Claymore his thermos and then watched her landlord's car pull away from the house and move slowly up Bay Road. "I sure hope he makes it home, all right!"

Daniel Gregg materialized once more into the living room. "I'm sure he will be fine, my dear. You know Claymore. If there is anything the man is, is cautious. He won't take any chances in this weather."

"Maybe," Carolyn muttered. "But I'll be happier when I know he's made it."

"In the meantime," Martha said brightly, having returned to the living room. "Let's go get my cupcakes frosted. Jonathan, Candy, come on. I could use some help."

XXX

Within a half an hour, Claymore was back on the doorstep of Gull Cottage. "Blasted tires!" he moaned, skittering in the door quickly as Martha opened it.

"Claymore!" Carolyn said in some surprise, hearing the noises in the foyer. "You're back!"

"Blasted, blasted tires!" He moaned again, and stamped the snow off his boots. "No traction! My car's in a ditch a half-mile down the road! I'm begging you, Mrs. Muir —" the man said, between chattering teeth. "Is there room at the inn? I think I'm here for the duration."

"Absolutely not!" said Daniel Gregg, materializing into the foyer.

"You're a meanie!" Claymore said boldly, and then ducked behind Carolyn. "You always have been! You just hate me, that's all! You wouldn't throw me out on a night like this!"

"Yes, I would," the Captain said blandly. "It's only two miles to town. You've jogged it before. You'd manage... if you had to. Be good for you. Toughen you up. And besides, it's not dark yet."

"It will be before I get halfway there!" Claymore pouted and turned to Carolyn Muir for support. "Mrs. Muir, he'll listen to you! Tell him I can stay."

"Captain..."

"No."

"But, Daniel!" Carolyn turned to the specter and gave him a beseeching look. "Captain, you can't send him out to walk home in weather like this. He has to stay here. He can stay in the guestroom. Be reasonable."

"This is my house!" Claymore squeaked, still ducking behind Carolyn. "I'm entitled!"

"It is NOT your house. It's my SHIP! And what you are entitled to, is the quickest, easiest way of joining me in my present state... you penny-pinching, unprincipled, money-grabbing, underhanded ingrate!" the Captain bellowed.

Carolyn turned to the Captain. "You simply can't treat Claymore like this. He HAS improved... a bit, you know. You can be absolutely infuriating!"

"I know. Beautiful women have often told me so..." he answered, a self-satisfied look on his handsome face.

"Fine! Be that way!" Claymore pouted, pulling his coat collar around his neck and headed for the door. "I WILL walk home! And when they find me in a week, lost in the snow and frozen to death, just remember, I'll be back here to haunt YOU, Daniel Gregg!"

"Claymore... wait." Daniel materialized in front of the whiner, blocking his exit. The younger Gregg stopped in his tracks and said nothing. "Claymore, you can stay," the Captain said, begrudgingly. "I really have no wish to hurry your entrance into the hereafter."

"Thought that might make you think a minute, Spooky." Claymore said smugly, turning around and heading back toward the living room. The Captain materialized in front of the landlord and blocked his way again.

"Don't push it, Claymore."

"Get out of my way, or I will walk right through you," Claymore said, daringly.

"Claymore, aren't you forgetting something?" Daniel asked silkily, dropping a very solid hand on his 'nephew's' shoulder. "You DO know that threat holds no water now, don't you? Now are you really going to... what was it you said again?"

"AAAragh..." Claymore stuttered, seeing the fire in Captain Gregg's eyes. "No, no. I won't," Claymore mumbled, removing the seaman's hand carefully... gently, and backing away from him. "I wouldn't, Captain. Just do me a favor, blame the snow, and my comments on my frozen brain, and equally frozen feet, and let me go warm up, okay?"

The Captain let Claymore pass without further threats and they all made their way toward the parlor.

XXX

Candy sighed and stared out at the still-falling snow. "Blast!" she moaned. "It's been two hours... I was hoping that maybe the snow would stop and I could still make it into Linda's house. I talked to Penelope earlier and that's where the other girls will be, 'cause they can walk there... Mrs. Coburn said Linda could have a slumber party." She looked at her mother apologetically. "Don't worry, Mom. I understand, really, I do, but I was really, really, looking forward to dressing up in my costume this year. Linda and I worked on it so hard, and it looks so cool, and I've been working on how to get my makeup right, and everything, and now, nothing."

"I'd hardly call my cupcakes and cookies, 'nothing'," Martha sniffed, looking up from where she was building a fire in the fireplace.

"Halloween is an overrated holiday, anyway," Claymore said. He had been dozing in Martha's rocker, a half-finished apple in his hand. "All this running around, scaring people, or trying to GET scared, and us hard-working adults are forced to give away candy to everyone who comes pounding at the door..."

"You're a Scrooge, Claymore," Carolyn smiled.

"Wrong holiday, Mom." Jonathan offered.

"Same principle, lad." Captain Gregg popped in and stood in front of the fireplace. "Claymore, it is Halloween, for heaven's sake. What are a few treats? Don't you EVER believe in giving something for nothing?"

"Only when forced," Claymore pouted. "At least I don't have to worry about handing out candy right and left this year!" His face brightened a bit.

"You don't give away candy, Claymore!" Candy commented. "You give us your business card with an IOU for a free ten minute consultation. That's no fun."

Claymore buried his nose back in his book.

"You know..." Carolyn said thoughtfully, and looked at her children's disappointed faces. "There's no law that says you can't dress in your costumes tonight. You could still do that, and we could have our own party, right here."

"Cool idea, Mom!" Jonathan rushed over to his mother and gave her a hug. "Can we do other stuff too? Bob for apples? Have a hot dog roast in the fireplace? Toast marshmallows? Eat candy? You won't be giving it to the trick-or-treaters, anyway..."

"I don't see why not!" Carolyn smiled and glanced at the Captain and Martha, looking for their support.

"That would be super!" Candy's face was glowing. "We could have a real party, at that! I'll go get dressed... can you come upstairs and help me with my makeup when I'm ready?"

"Of course," Carolyn smiled at Jonathan and Candy's excited faces.

"That means I get to use the bathroom mirror first!" Jonathan told his sister. "I need to draw on my mustache, and if I wait for you to finish in there, I'll never get a chance."

"What are YOU guys going to be?" Candy challenged her mother, as they headed for the stairs.

"Who, guys?" Carolyn looked startled.

"You know. You, the Captain, Martha, Claymore..." Candy explained.

"I haven't a clue, Candy." Carolyn shrugged gracefully as she answered her daughter. "I haven't dressed up for Halloween in years. I'm not really very good at the costume thing. I usually try to let my writing do my pretending for me."

"Well, you have to, this time, Mom." Candy was patient. "You don't really have to BE someone, or some thing. Just find something pretty, wear lots of makeup, or a mask, or a wig... and be someone different from you. I know!" Her face brightened. "You could wear your Centennial dress!" Candy tugged her mother toward the stairs, and Carolyn blushed, thinking of the last time she had worn the dress more than a year before and the first... no, SECOND waltz she had shared with 'Captain Gregg.' And if anyone had been watching Daniel Gregg at that moment, they would have seen a reminiscent smile on his face, as well.

"What about you, Captain?" Jonathan asked, turning to the seaman. "Can you be someone else? Make yourself look different, I mean?"

"Uhm?" The seafarer's answer was vague.

"_I'll say he can..."_ Claymore said, very softly, from where he was still sitting in his corner.

"Why don't you make yourself useful, Claymore, and carve the pumpkin for me?" Martha asked the spoilsport, and she pushed on the back of Claymore's rocker — literally spilling him out of his seat and onto the floor.

"Hey!" Claymore protested, but reluctantly he rose to his feet. "I haven't carved a pumpkin since I was a kid."

"One of those things you don't forget, Scrooge," Martha answered. "Come on." Together, the housekeeper and the landlord headed for the kitchen.

"So, can you, Captain Gregg?" the boy asked, still looking at his hero.

"Can I what?" the Captain asked, having lost the gist of the conversation.

"Make yourself look different," the boy said, patiently. "Like when only your head appeared when you tried to scare Madam Tibaldi and Claymore."

"And how would you know that?" the Captain suddenly seemed to tower over the boy. He clasped his hands behind him, and tried to look stern.

"I peeked!" Jonathan answered, without a quaver. "I know, you sent me to bed, but I was worried. Candy was, too. Anyway, I saw you. Just your head was there, not you. I got to thinking about it later that if you could do that, and you can wear your dress uniform when you want, like at Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary, that you could wear other clothes too — you just don't."

The Captain nodded. "Aye, lad. I can change my dress — and my appearance, if I wish to."

"Then I think you should, Captain!" and the boy smiled up at him. "Mom says we all need to change things around every now and then. You go change, and I will too... Okay?"

The seaman nodded and disappeared, and Jonathan headed for the stairs.

XXX XXX

Claymore, of course, had no costume, having arrived at Gull Cottage literally with the clothes on his back, and he was pouty about wearing one, anyway, still insisting costumes were for kids. Martha arrived downstairs in the long skirt and ruffled blouse she had planned on wearing to the dance with Ed, and had added several beaded necklaces, a heavy silver broach, dangly earrings, and a rainbow-sequined mask, left over from last year's outfit. When Claymore asked what she was supposed to be, Martha had replied "someone else, not me," and gave the jellyfish a withering glance. The landlord had left it at that.

Carolyn helped Candy and Jonathan get decked out, then, at a loss for what to go as herself, she grabbed an old white sheet, cut a hole in the middle, slits for her arms and tied it around her waist with a gold belt and had Candy cut a jagged edge along the bottom, bringing the 'dress' to just below the knee. Then she donned a pair of tights and dance slippers left over from her Amateur Night's stint the year before, and used pancake makeup to cover her face, turning it almost white. Following that, she carefully made up her eyes with heavy blue and green shadow, eyeliner and mascara, and added dark, almost burgundy-colored lipstick. The effect was very "not Mom," Candy maintained, but rather stunning.

"What are you supposed to be?" the Captain asked, as Carolyn and the children made their way into the living room to present themselves.

"A GHOST, of course!" Carolyn laughed. "A Hollywood-type ghost! I saw an actress dress like this to play a ghost in a movie once. _Blithe Spirit, _I think it was. Actually, her outfit glowed green. I didn't quite know how to rig that part!"

"Thank heavens for that!" the Captain sighed. "My dear lady, you don't look like any ghost I have ever known, and I have known a great many in my time, but may I say you do look marvelous, whatever kind of ghost you are."

Carolyn bowed. "Why, thank-you kind sir!" and she winked. "I may have to go upstairs and change, though."

"And why would that be?" the Captain asked. In spite of his protestations to the contrary, he was enjoying the evening's festivities, and especially Carolyn's get-up.

"Because I've been had, that's why!" Carolyn stated. "Jonathan said you would come in costume, and you haven't changed at all."

"Any preferences?" The seaman smiled, glancing at the group.

"An astronaut?" said Jonathan.

Captain Gregg's image shimmered, and the image of an astronaut in full gear, helmet and all, was in front of them.

"No... A bullfighter!" begged Candy, and the Captain's form morphed and changed again and he swirled his crimson cape around in a circle.

"Little showy, aren't you, Captain?" Claymore spoke out from his corner.

"Perhaps," the Captain smiled. "Not the real me, I must say."

"That's the point of Halloween, Captain!" Martha gave the seaman a cheeky look. "How about Errol Flynn?"

"Who?"

"Errol Flynn — you know, _Robin Hood, Captain Blood..."_

"A pirate?" The Captain looked appalled. "I am not a pirate."

"Oh, be cool, Captain!" Jonathan said, looking up at the seaman. "WE know that! But that's the whole point of Halloween and dressing up. To be someone you aren't, right?"

"I suppose," the Captain said, a bit reluctantly. "'Be cool,' Jonathan? I'm not familiar with your latest slang, but your meaning is unmistakable. Very well..." and once more, the seafarer's image shimmered and modified.

No one was quite prepared for the figure that solidified in front of them. The familiar image of the specter they knew and loved (well, in Claymore's case, just KNEW) was gone. In his place was a tall, mustached, but un-bearded man, dressed in a white shirt, halfway open, chest muscles showing clearly, and form-fitting black pants. A red sash crossed over one shoulder, the fringed ends hanging past his waist, and a cutlass hung from a belt about his lean hips. Long, flowing locks, tied loosely at the back of his neck, one gold earring and an eye-patch completed his look.

"_Great wall-eyed pikes..."_ Candy said, staring at the seaman.

"You DO look Errol Flynn... or Clark Gable..." Martha stuttered.

"No... B-better than that." Carolyn stammered, interrupting her housekeeper. "Captain," she flushed. "You look..."

"MAGNIFICENT?" he smiled wickedly.

"Well, I'm not sure I would go THAT far!" she said, inwardly thinking exactly that. Mentally shaking herself, Carolyn continued. "Kids! Claymore... get up, for heaven's sake. We're all set here... let's get this party moving, shall we?"

XXX XXX

"This is fun!" Candy said, spearing another hot dog onto her metal hanger hot-dog-holder and holding it over the roaring fire, burning in the fireplace. "Why haven't we ever done this before?"

"Because there's never been a snowstorm on Halloween before, maybe?" Jonathan asked as he pushed back his cowboy hat, which kept falling in his face, and put another marshmallow on to toast.

"But we never did it any other night, or any other Halloween, either," Candy maintained, reaching for another toffee apple.

"I suppose the idea just never came up before, sweetie," Carolyn smiled at her daughter.

"I just wish Uncle Sean and Uncle Dash were here," the girl sighed. "Then we'd all be at the party."

Tugging his ear, Daniel smiled down at her. "Your Uncle Dash wanted to make good use of the... traditions of Halloween to put the fear of himself into his lily-livered, landlubber relatives." He paused to glare at his 'relative,' before adding, "And Uncle Sean — hopes to find a long lost — friend." He would not elaborate, but the family seemed content.

"I still think dressing up is for children," Claymore said, taking a handful of caramel corn.

"You didn't think so when you dressed up like Captain Gregg last year!" Jonathan pointed out, and bit into another of Martha's cupcakes.

"That was different!" Claymore said defensively, and he took another sip of cocoa. "Besides, I had to look the part of Grand Admiral, didn't I?"

"And you enjoyed every moment of it!" Daniel Gregg said, sitting on the opposite end of the couch from Carolyn, swirling his brandy around in the bottom of his glass.

"Not EVERY moment!" Claymore winced. "My muscles..."

"You don't have any muscles, Claymore," the Captain answered back.

"MY MUSCLES..." he insisted, "...haven't been the same since! And not only that, but..."

"You did a great job on the pumpkin, Claymore," Carolyn interrupted him, trying to prevent needless bickering between her landlord and his great-uncle. "Really wonderful! Is it really true you haven't carved a pumpkin since you were a boy?"

"Absolutely!" Claymore answered, more than a tinge proud of himself. "Thanks! I'm glad I had that little hacksaw blade in my toolbox, though. Lot easier cutting it with that than a paring knife."

Carolyn nodded. "I've messed up a few pumpkins, myself, with one slip of the blade." She looked at the children and Martha. "What's up next, kids?" Carolyn asked.

"Bob for apples!" cried Jonathan.

"Let's play Green Ghost!" his sister contradicted him.

"How about Pin the Tail on the Cat?" Martha put in.

"I like Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin, better," said Claymore.

"That's 'cause it's easier to find the middle of circle where the nose goes!" Candy pointed out. "Too easy to cheat, Claymore. So you changed your mind and you want to play games, after all?"

Claymore shrugged.

The next hour passed quickly, and at the children's insistence, there were a variety of games to try. Bobbing for apples came first, after Candy and Jonathan made the Captain swear off the use of his unearthly powers for the evening. The game ended with everyone much damper than when they had started — Claymore the most so after slipping and landing head first into the apple tub. Daniel Gregg laughed his head off as Claymore shook the water out of his ears, and shot Carolyn a look that clearly said "I had nothing to do with HIS clumsiness," but she still had her doubts. Captain Gregg still won the contest, but he wouldn't tell anyone how he managed to get hold of an apple without getting wet, or grabbing hold of an apple stem — which Martha had removed.

Following that game, Carolyn, Jonathan and the Captain took sides against Martha, Candy and Claymore for a Halloween word scramble game (how many other words can YOU find in Halloween?) — Carolyn's team coming out on top. Claymore faunched a little at the win, complaining that "ordinary people can't hope to compete with writers."

Pumpkin Bowling in the foyer came next — using the small pumpkins and gourds that Carolyn had bought earlier in the week for table decorations as the bowling balls and empty soda bottles as the pins. After that, came pumpkin races — with Candy coming out the winner at balancing the pumpkin on her head while making her dash from one end of the hallway to the other. After three games of each, they were all breathless and ready to relax again.

"What next, you guys?" Carolyn asked, as they returned to the living room and stoked the fire.

"Sing Halloween songs!" shouted Jonathan.

"Halloween songs?" the Captain asked, puzzled.

"Sure, Captain!" Jonathan answered. "Didn't you ever learn any?" And Jonathan and his sister started:

_**Humphrey the Blue-Nosed Pumpkin, had a very obvious nose. **_

_**And if you ever saw it, you might even say it shows.**_

_**All of the other pumpkins, used to laugh and call him names.**_

_**They never let poor Humphrey, play in any pumpkin games**_

The Captain chortled as the children finished and started another song: _Over the Graveyard and Through the__Tombs,_ and after several more tunes, Claymore surprised Candy and Jonathan by joining them, providing the faux Boris Karloff narration for _The Monster Mash._

_**...Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band, and my Monster Mash is the hit of the land!**_

_**For you, the living, this mash was meant too, When you get to my door, tell them BORIS sent you!**_

_**Then you can mash, Then you can monster mash**_

Candy and Jonathan's voices trailed off and they looked at the adults expectantly.

"What next, Captain?" Jonathan asked his hero.

"It's up to you, children!" the seafarer answered, and looked at Carolyn. "Don't you agree, my dear?"

Carolyn nodded and waited as the Captain refilled her brandy snifter and Martha's — and watched as Captain Gregg glared at Claymore, who was helping himself to yet another piece of Martha's pumpkin bread.

"You go first, Captain! You tell GREAT ghost stories!" said Jonathan.

"Figures." Claymore began, "Who tells better ghost stories than a...?"

Daniel gave him a look that shut him up quickly.

"I think we ought to get in the mood, here," he said, and waved his hand. The electric lights shut off, and the candles that Martha and Carolyn had placed about the room in the event of a power outage were suddenly burning, letting off a soft glow.

"Showing off a bit, eh, Captain?" Claymore commented, and he smiled amiably, mellowed by his pleasant evening and a small snifter of brandy. "Wish I could do that!"

"Me too!" the children said in unison.

The seaman stole a glance at his lady, who was busy putting another log on the fire, thinking how much better his 'life' had become in the last few months, and how glad he was that ghost-powers were not the only powers at his disposal, and in a silky baritone he began his tale.

"The year was 1864... on Halloween, it was! My ship, under the cover of fog, slipped by some Rebel gunboats at the entrance to Galveston Bay, in Texas. I made it safely to port with my cargo of food and other necessities and was getting ready to weigh anchor, when I was startled by a shriek from Louis Gast, a member of my crew. His cry made my blood turn to ice." Candy's eyes grew wide and the seaman continued. "A strange, old-fashioned schooner with a big black flag was rushing down on us. She was afire with a sort of weird, pale-blue light that lit up every nook and cranny of her."

"Another ship?" Jonathan asked, breathlessly. "What..."

"The crew on the other ship was pulling at the ropes and doing other seaman's work, and they paid us no attention," the Captain continued. "They didn't even glance our way. The scariest thing about them was the men all had ghastly bleeding wounds, and their faces and eyes were those of DEAD MEN." Fascinated, Martha drew closer to where the Captain and the children were sitting, and even Claymore was transfixed. "Louis, the crewman who had shrieked, had fallen to his knees," Daniel continued. "His teeth chattered as he gasped out a prayer."

"What did you do?" Carolyn gasped. "What happened?"

"Overcoming my own terror that was chilling me to the very marrow of my bones, I rushed forward, shouting to my men as I ran. Suddenly..." Daniel paused.

"WHAT?!" his audience gasped, waiting for the worst.

" ...The schooner vanished before my eyes!" the seaman finished. "Just like that — it was nowhere to be seen! Vanished without a trace!"

Daniel's audience let out a collective sigh of relief.

"And they didn't fire on you, or anything?" Jonathan asked.

"If it was a ghost ship, and the Captain was alive then, it wouldn't have touched him, anyway," Candy pointed out.

"You never know!" Claymore remarked. "You could get scared to death!"

"Not Captain Gregg!" Jonathan said, loyally.

"Thank-you, lad," the Captain answered the boy, and continued. "When we told our story later, some said that it was all our imagination, but with so many of us seeing the exact same thing, I knew that was impossible. But OTHER men I knew, who had sailed those waters, said that it was the ghost of Jean Lafitte's pirate ship, the Pride — which sank off the Galveston Island in the early eighteen-twenties."

"Oh, wow..." Candy breathed softly. "A real ghost ship!" The Captain finished his tale.

"I heard after my death that she was seen again in eighteen ninety-two in the same waters with the same crew ...but I never saw the ship again. But once was far enough for me!"

"Me, too!" Jonathan shivered. "Imagine! A real live ghost ship!"

"There's a contradiction in terms, if I ever heard one!" Claymore smirked, and more stories began.

Martha went first, reciting the classic tale: _The Monkey's Paw_. Then Jonathan jumped in, telling another old favorite, _The Man with the Golden Arm_. His sister followed him immediately with _The Killer in the Back Seat _and Jonathan countered again with the well-known tale: _Night Caller, _and then Candy topped him again with _The Beautiful, Young Vanishing Hitchhiking Woman. _Then Martha had another turn with _Dying in the Arms of an Angel._ Claymore was turning a little green, but the Captain listened as Martha finished her story.

He snorted. "No self-respecting ghost I know would do anything of the sort!" he stated. "I've never heard of anything so ludicrous — Not _The Monkey's Paw_, that was fine, but these so-called 'urban' legends! Strange, is it not, how they always happen to a 'friend of a friend' of someone you know? It's a good thing Dash, Sean, Fontenot, or even Elroy Applegate isn't here to listen to this. You'd be laughed right off the gangplank."

"If you can't be nice, Captain, go work on your sea-charts or something." Martha commented, not about to let the Captain's comments spoil her evening. "The stories are just for fun, you know!" "We can call you later when we're ready to start the next round of games, or what-have-you."

"Martha's right, Daniel!" Carolyn gave him a small smile. "Remember Thumper's rule: If you can't say something nice—"

"Don't say 'nuthin at all!" Claymore finished, triumphantly.

"Blast!" said the Captain, and disappeared with an audible 'pop.'

"Captain Gregg sure can get grumpy, sometimes," Candy commented. "Think he'll be back, Mom?"

"I wouldn't be at all surprised!" and Carolyn smiled. "He'll be all right. I think he just gets sensitive about all the ghost-talk this time of year, especially these more modern ghost stories you two were telling. Where do you pick up such tales, anyway? The Captain is more of a traditionalist, I think. If he isn't back soon, we'll go and find him."

"I see," said Jonathan. "I hadn't thought about it like that! Captain Gregg does get cross sometimes, but he never stays that way long! Boy! I know it was a little weird the first time I met him the very first day we came here. I mean Captain Gregg is cool, and I love living with him, and I'm glad I was the first one to see him, but..." Jonathan stopped and then jumped — a thought occurring to him. "Hey! Claymore!" He turned to the landlord. "You haven't told a story yet! Tell us about the first time YOU met the Captain! You know how Candy and I met him!"

Claymore demurred a bit.

"Hey, neat idea, Jonathan!" Candy said. "Come on, Claymore, tell us!"

The landlord hedged a bit more. "Oh, you don't really want to hear..."

"Sure we do!" Martha put in her two cents. "Come on, Claymore, give. I told you what happened with me, and how he introduced himself when he thought I was leaving for Florida, and nobody cared, and all."

"Well..."

Carolyn gave the worried-looking man a dazzling smile. "Please, Claymore? I know your story will be fascinating!"

"Well, perhaps I will." He looked around the room nervously. "You sure he's left?"

"I don't see him!" Carolyn said, truthfully.

"Me neither!" the others agreed.

"If he pops back in, Scruffy would probably sense him, and bark, or something," Candy added.

"Yeah, and he's sound asleep!" Jonathan agreed, nodding to the dog curled up by the fire.

"Well, maybe I can..." Claymore said, still a tad doubtful. "How about another spot of brandy first, Mrs. Muir?"

Carolyn smiled her assent, and Martha poured another dollop of brandy into the man's snifter.

_Now this should be VERY interesting... _the seaman whispered.

Carolyn was suddenly alert to the fact that she was hearing the sound of Daniel Gregg's voice coming from INSIDE her head, and that he was back in the living room, in his usual form, occupying the same seat on the couch he had vacated only a few moments before.

_Daniel... _Her thoughts reached out to him, instinctively.

_Yes, Carolyn?_

_Can anyone else see or hear you?_

_No, my dear, only you have that privilege at the moment. Call it a special Halloween gift, for All Saint's Eve. It will allow me to converse with you in a way not possible any other time._

_Could your guru teach us to communicate like this all the time? It's..._

_No, my dear lady. _He smiled, sadly. _This dispensation happens but once a year._

_I'm very glad you're back, Daniel, but what made you come back?_

_To hear Claymore's story, of course! You were right about me being sensitive on the subject of ghost stories, my dear, and I thank you for recognizing that fact. I DO get a bit tired of the nonsense ones I have heard a thousand times... the new ones especially, and demeaning they are, to a REAL spirit, that is. My story to you all this evening was TRUE, you know._

_You were listening to us a minute ago?_

_Only for an instant, my dear. After a little thought, I realized I was being oversensitive. I was planning on popping back in again, but when I heard the children's request, I decided to wait and see what kind of drivel Claymore would come up with._

_Why don't you just pop in again? Why make yourself unseen to everyone?_

The seaman laughed. _Because Claymore would never tell the story if I was in the room, of course! _And he chuckled again. _And I want to hear it!_

_I still can't believe... you were listening to all of us without telling us._

_I would never do that to you, Carolyn, my dear. Just to Claymore... Shh... he's starting!_

Claymore began. "Well, I guess I should tell you a little about ME first... I was age twelve in 1941... A genius, for my age, and even then I showed a great aptitude for a future life as a businessman. I had great things ahead of me — Great! I had many friends..."

_Friends! Bah! The other lads in town wanted to avoid the stupenagle-squid, _said the Captain_. And he almost failed his grade... twice._

"I hadn't lived in Schooner Bay long at that point, but had moved here with my parents, only a few months before, as I recall... and of course I was still missing my many, many friends in Massachusetts."

_The misfit moved to Schooner Bay the previous Christmas! _the Captain said._ Almost a year before! His imposter father, James Gregg, a third cousin, once removed, had laid claim on my land and property!_

"My father and mother, a most loving couple indeed..."

_They couldn't bear each other, _the Captain said briefly_. Arranged marriage. I'm amazed Claymore is even here._

"...Had been working together day after day, trying to build up our meager holdings..."

_MY holdings! _Daniel scoffed_. Nothing meager, I do assure you, Madam! And his father was a banker! They were not poverty-stricken!_

"...that my father had inherited. We had decided to live in town, rather than at Gull Cottage..."

_Because I had already scared the life out of your father! He knew better than to attempt to make his home with me! James Gregg shied away from this place from the first — the lily-livered... Like father, like son!_

_Daniel! _Carolyn thought loudly. _Shush!_

"But one dark and stormy night..." Claymore went on, oblivious to the Captain's comments.

_Night? Two hours after his noon meal? It was the middle of the afternoon! _the Captain stormed.

Candy, Jonathan and Martha gazed at Claymore as he began to warm to his tale. Carolyn, however, smothered a giggle. _Quiet, Daniel. You said you wanted to hear this._

_But, Madam..._

_Shush._

"Well, I guess actually, it was more like late afternoon..." Claymore amended, and for a moment, Carolyn wondered if the man could hear the ghost after all. "My friends, having nothing better to do Halloween afternoon, except wait for dark to fall when we could go trick-or-treating, dared me to take them to see Gull Cottage."

"How did you get there, if you lived in town, Claymore?" Candy asked, curious.

"We rode our bikes," he answered.

_Correction. You didn't have a bike. Your father wouldn't buy you one. You made one of your friends carry you up here on the handlebars of their bike; _the Captain invisibly corrected him again.

"Everyone in town thought the place was haunted," Claymore continued. "But I knew that Gull Cottage would be mine, one day, and I should be able to show my friends around if I wanted to, spirit or not!"

The Captain sighed. _I don't believe this drivel..._

"Anyway," Claymore went on. "I wasn't afraid of some moldy old ancestor, regardless what anyone said and we all wanted to go and check out the place, so I borrowed my father's keys..."

_Stole them, you mean... _the Captain countered. _And you didn't want to go. You only went because the other boys offered to pay you a quarter for the tour. And what do you mean, moldy? _

"...and we made our way to the house. The bike trip took a while, and at one point I saw a headless figure, perched in a tree with a sign that said: "No Trespassing" That was almost enough to make my friend, Charles, do a three-point turn and head back the way we came, but I talked him out of it."

_There was no headless man! You were imagining things! _Daniel Gregg scoffed. _What kind of a monster did you take me for, you fool? Even then! I've never heard such ridiculous balderdash in all my born days!_

"The grass around the house had grown tall," Claymore continued. "It was like crawling your way through a jungle. My father hadn't sent anyone out to cut it — not that anyone would, I suppose! My friends, Eddie, Charles and Guy, kept talking about the other stories they had heard about the place; the weird noises, the moans that had been heard from the widow's-walk in the dark, the lone figure that was seen walking the beach — lights flickering through the windows of the master cabin late at night, bats flying out of the chimney..."

_This house NEVER saw a bat! _the Captain roared in Carolyn's ears. _What utter and complete nonsense! And those other rascals had to promise Claymore another nickel each just to get him to go up to the porch!_

"Anyway, we left our bikes outside the gate, where your mother parks her car..."

_Better for a quick getaway, you..._

"...And made our way to the porch. I'm not sure what happened, maybe I grabbed the wrong key, but it wouldn't work in the lock."

_Blasted stubborn latch, _The seaman commented, still invisible and un-hearable to everyone, save Carolyn. _And you had the nerve to suggest that Mrs. Muir must have broken it the day she moved in!_

_Thanks, Captain... _Carolyn projected her thoughts to the seaman again. _But he did pay to get it fixed, now quiet!_

"We went around the house until we found an open window. Guy said that when he looked in the window there were mysterious moving shadows, but Eddie and Charles didn't see any, and I told him he was being silly. Anyway, we managed to push it open and we crawled inside."

"Why would a window be open in an empty house?" Jonathan questioned. "Did the Captain open it for you?"

"Well, if he did, he never told me." Claymore answered. "It would have been a lot easier if he had opened the door!"

_Easier, but not nearly as much fun, _the seaman commented. _As I recall, the barnacle ripped his trousers. I'd love to know how he explained that to his mother._

_Daniel_... Carolyn thought, but the younger Gregg had started again.

"We went to the kitchen first — it had one of those really old stoves, the kind that sits on the ground with a black pipe going through the ceiling, and there was stagnant water in the sink."

"Humph, Martha snorted. "Sounds like a relative to the stove we have now! And as for the sink..."

"I'll ignore that remark!" Claymore sniffed. "Do you want to hear the rest of this story, or not?"

"I do, Claymore!" Carolyn grinned as she glanced unobtrusively at Daniel's scowling face.

"The kitchen floor started to creak. What if it gave way and we fell down into the cellar? Guy started to whine again, but Charles and I wanted to go down to the cellar, not fall into it."

_You mean Eddie and Charles, _the Captain interrupted.

"Why did you want to go to the cellar, Claymore?" Candy asked.

"Because we had heard that there was a dungeon down there, and there was the skeleton of a hobo who had been caught inside when he tried to spend the night in Gull Cottage — that was before I lived in Schooner Bay. Supposedly the poor man had broken into the house one night to avoid a thunderstorm, and the ghost of Captain Gregg haunted him, and he went crazy and did away with himself in the living room."

"Captain Gregg would never do anything like that!" Candy and Jonathan said together.

_Right — and I suppose after the man did that, he picked himself up and carried his lifeless body down to the cellar? _the Captain sneered. _Or did he march down to the cellar, go mad and do the deed there, perhaps? There was no hobo — crazy or not!_

Martha started sniggering. "A dungeon, Claymore? In Schooner Bay? In 1941? Really! There are no dungeons around here!"

"I know that now, but I didn't know it then!" Claymore answered back. "Needless to say, we didn't make it all the way down the stairs. Guy got too scared, and almost started crying, so we decided not to..."

_It wasn't Guy. It was you, Claymore! _the Captain thundered.

Carolyn flinched. How long would it be before she got used to this nonsense?_ Captain Gregg, please, stop shouting! _Carolyn thought.

_My dear, I assure you no one can hear or see me but you. _The Captain was now pacing the floor in front of his supposed nephew.

_I realize that, Daniel, but I hear you shouting! Now, quiet! _she answered.

"Candles were lit in the living room," Claymore continued. "But the furniture was covered with sheets, and they were covered with thick layers of dust. Guy was a little antsy, but Eddie and I insisted that as long as we were there, we should see all we could."

"What about the candles, Claymore?" Jonathan asked. "Didn't you wonder who put them there?"

"Charles wondered, but I decided that they must have left by workmen, or something." Claymore said. "My father had mentioned something earlier that day about possibly hiring a crew to get the place de-gho ...cleaned up, I mean. But by this time my friend Eddie was getting a little spooked, too, and wanted to leave..."

_That is a blasted lie, Madam! Claymore is the one who wanted to leave!_

"There wasn't much else of interest on the main floor, so we decided to go upstairs," Claymore continued.

_Charles and Eddie wanted to go upstairs!_

"Pretty brave of you, considering!" Martha remarked.

"Considering, what?" Claymore asked, turning to the housekeeper.

"Considering it's YOU," Martha maintained. "I mean, come on now! I've come up behind you and you've fainted on the spot."

"I was younger then," Claymore replied.

_But just as spineless then as you are now! _the seaman thundered.

_Blast it, Captain! Quiet! _Carolyn thought back to the seaman.

"I wanted to see the upstairs," Claymore continued. "I had heard that there was a treasure stored in the room somewhere in a secret compartment somewhere and wanted to..." Claymore stopped. "Well, I wanted to disprove the old myth. .I mean after all, I didn't want anyone else breaking into Gull Cottage, looking for it, now did I?"

_No – You just wanted to nip it for yourself! _Daniel said, his face getting red. _And how many times must I tell you I have no treasure hidden in this house!_

"We started upstairs — the stairs creaking at every footstep. We were almost at the top — ready to start down the hall toward the master cabin, when we heard a horrible crashing sound from the kitchen, and then an eerie light came on in the upstairs hallway, glowing a greenish yellow — it flickered and started to fade and I heard the sound of baying hounds coming from the master bedroom!"

Jonathan and Candy's eyes grew big as saucers.

"Well! My friends were terrified! They started to push their way down the stairs, frantically, not looking behind them and dragging me along! I, of course, wanted to stay behind and confront the intruder! At the bottom of the stairs, I managed to break free of the guys, and I watched as the lily-livered cowards ran off — making their way out the open window just as fast as they could!"

"What happened next?" Candy breathed.

"Why I confronted the black-hearted scourge, that's what!" Claymore smirked. "After the other cowards had left, I stood my ground and called out in a loud voice, _Show yourself, you devil! This is my father's house, and we don't want you here!"_

"_**ALL RIGHT! THAT'S IT! I CANNOT STAND THIS FOR ONE MORE INSTANT!" **_The Captain materialized, looking, suddenly, very much larger than life. "That's not how it was at all, you oaf! You purveyor of preposterous poppycock! You quivering squid! What a convoluted, unprincipled, asinine, outrageous bunch of hogwash I have ever listened to in my entire life! You have the unmitigated GALL to sit there, drink my brandy, on my property... and tell this...this..."

"MY property, Captain..." the overstrung man squeaked.

"MY house!" the Captain bellowed. "And my ship! You ungrateful... One more word out of you and out into the storm you go! And not only that, but..."

"Okay! Okay!" The man whimpered and ducked his head. "Yes! All right, already! Okay, yes, I admit it — I lied! The guys had to bribe me, and I kept trying to leave, but they made me stay, and I tripped — oh, Captain, please — please don't hurt me!"

"Daniel..." Carolyn interrupted him, giving the seaman a grin. "I'm sure Claymore is only telling things the way that he remembers them — the way he wanted things to be... sort of! To each, their own?"

"At my expense! I'm warning you, Claymore! One more word and..." The sound of thunder could now be heard over the howl of the wind outside.

"I think I need to... uhm... go wash my hands, or something..." Claymore stood and scuttled off to the bathroom.

"That wasn't how it was at all, you... you blazing..." the Captain sputtered, and turned to his family.

"Will you please tell us what happened next, Daniel?" Carolyn gave him a special smile. "I think Claymore has been sufficiently chastised for the evening!" She glanced in the direction of the bathroom. "It may be an hour before he decides to come out."

Daniel Gregg settled himself firmly in the middle of the sofa, Carolyn on one side, Martha on the other, the children curled up on the floor near the fire and in front of the adults. "To each his own, eh? Now then, my dears! Let me finish telling you what REALLY happened that afternoon!"

"Okay," agreed Jonathan. "Bet this will be better than Claymore's version!"

"There were no hounds, for heaven's sake," The seaman continued. "And he fainted the moment he realized his friends had left him behind! I had to pour water on the unconscious poltroon, and then, after he had sputtered and come to his senses, I appeared in front of him, exactly as I look now, I might add, and informed him in no uncertain terms that Gull Cottage was NOT his father's, and would never be his, but had been built by ME, Captain Daniel Elias Alexander Gregg, and I was going to remain in possession of it!"

Martha sniggered. "That sounds a little closer to the truth!"

"What happened next, Captain?" Jonathan asked, giggling.

"I told Claymore that if he wanted to live to see another day that he'd better set a course out of there right away — and never return, if he knew what was good for him!"

"Then what?" Candy snickered.

"The quivering sea-squid started to faint again!" and Daniel chuckled at the memory. "I threw the rest of the jug of water on him, and propelled him, none-to-gently, I might add, out the front door, down the steps, and down the front walk. His glasses flew off, almost breaking, I think, but he grabbed them and dashed madly down the road — I never saw anyone run so fast! And that was the last I saw of him for ten years!"

"You've got to admit, Captain," Claymore shrugged, coming out of the bathroom. "It was a good ghost story, though, wasn't it? Come on, be a sport — just for one night a year. Don't give all your fellow ghosties — Dash, Sean — a bad name, huh?" Claymore retreated to the rocking chair with his brandy glass, nursing his wounded pride.

The night wore on, with more games played, more stories told, more songs sung, more brandy consumed and more food eaten, and when the inhabitants of Gull Cottage, human and otherwise, finally made their way to their rooms, tired, but happy, the mutual consensus was it was the best Halloween they ever had. And they went to their rest — promising each other that they would do the same...

_Next year!_


End file.
